Ellen Mum on Jewel Case

By Stephen G. Fellajuah

MONROVIA, Liberia, September 3, 2026 — Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has declined to comment on the ongoing prosecution of former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor over her alleged links to an international cocaine trafficking network.

Sirleaf was approached by reporters Tuesday, September 1, during a visit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Monrovia, where she received a briefing from the agency’s management and toured its facilities.

Asked by journalists for her reaction to Howard-Taylor’s case, the former Liberian leader simply responded, “No,” declining to discuss the allegations or circumstances surrounding the former vice president’s prosecution.

Sirleaf’s refusal to comment comes amid heightened political and public debate over the case, with supporters of Howard-Taylor calling for her release and opposition figures questioning the government’s handling of the matter.

Howard-Taylor, who served as Liberia’s vice president from 2018 to 2024, was arrested on August 19 after authorities prevented her from leaving the country through Roberts International Airport.

She was subsequently charged with several offenses, including illicit trafficking and unlicensed importation of controlled substances, criminal solicitation, criminal facilitation, criminal conspiracy and money laundering.

Three foreign nationals have also been charged in absentia in connection with the alleged trafficking network.

The case emerged against the backdrop of two major cocaine seizures that have intensified scrutiny of narcotics trafficking in Liberia.

On July 21, authorities seized nearly four metric tons of cocaine from a warehouse in Duazon, Margibi County, with the drugs reportedly valued at approximately US$317 million.

That operation followed the seizure of 237.6 kilograms of cocaine at Roberts International Airport in June.

According to police charge documents and court filings, investigators allege that Howard-Taylor developed relationships with individuals authorities have linked to the suspected trafficking network.

Investigators allege that she met some of the individuals at her Congo Town residence in 2022 and later traveled to Dubai, where authorities say she met Nikola Ivančić, whom investigators identify as an alleged leader of the network.

The government further alleges that Howard-Taylor received US$45,000 during the Dubai trip and another US$75,000 through Sheikh Bashiru Kante for the Jewel Star Fish Foundation.

Investigators also allege that she received an additional US$15,000 in August 2026, bringing the total alleged payments cited by authorities to US$135,000.

The government says its case includes travel records, audio recordings, witness accounts, alleged financial transactions and communications involving individuals linked to the suspected network.

Howard-Taylor’s lawyers have rejected the allegations and characterized the prosecution as politically motivated.

The government has denied claims of political persecution, maintaining that the investigation is part of its broader crackdown on narcotics trafficking and that suspects will be prosecuted regardless of their political or social status.

The allegations against Howard-Taylor have not been proven in court, and she remains entitled to the presumption of innocence unless convicted.